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Mentorship through MSRO

The Medical Student Research Office (MSRO) partners students with mentors who will enhance their research experiences and scholarly development.

Mentoring Support through the MSRO

Mentoring allows you to pursue scholarly projects in an area that is important to you. If you are a beginning student, you have the opportunity to learn more about an area you are considering for a future career. As an advanced student, you can work on the cutting-edge questions being asked in your chosen future fields. Faculty mentors are both teachers and role models, and they are essential partners in a student's development.

Who is eligible?

If you are a medical student, you are eligible, with or without previous research experience.

How can a mentor help me?

Mentors support you every step of the way, offering suggestions, advice, knowledge, insight, and resources as needed. Specifically, mentors can help you:

Learn how to formulate a hypothesis

Develop a research proposal

Carry out a project

Analyze the resulting data

Communicate the results to the scientific community

Evaluate your own progress

Make decisions about future research

Find information for career planning

How to Find a Research Mentor

If you want to carry out a summer research project, you should begin exploring your subject and identifying potential mentors during the fall semester.

Once you have done so, ask your classmates for mentor suggestions, search our Mentor Database, or look through the online bios of faculty members in a particular department. All students should also make an appointment to see one of the faculty in the Medical Student Research Office to discuss potential mentors. When you have some names to consider, conduct a PubMed search to see what s/he has published in the last few years, which will give you a more specific idea of the individual's research focus.

Once you have found someone researching your desired subject, send an email to ask whether they have any ongoing projects suitable for a summer research experience. If the proposed mentor has projects available, make an appointment to talk further in person.

Since positions, along with a mentor's time, are often limited, you will increase your chances of being invited to join a group if you can demonstrate you have taken the time to research the individual's prior work. This will attest to your sincere interest. It is always helpful to exhibit motivation and enthusiasm.

Mentor's Letter of Support

Your qualifications to participate in the program and your level of commitment

Your ability to undertake the proposed project and the feasibility of the time allotted

The mentor’s qualifications to advise the proposed project, along with availability of necessary institutional facilities

Goals for the training experience (e.g., ability to learn written and oral research presentation skills, present results at a local/national meeting, etc.)

Information about any additional mentoring available to you, if relevant, such as faculty co-mentors, graduate students, post-docs, or fellows in the group who can provide daily oversight

Programs

PORTAL (Patient-Oriented Research Training and Leadership)Portal is a highly selective, strongly mentored program, designed to encourage career development of medical students who seek to become leaders as physician-scientists. Students in the PORTAL program will earn a dual MD/MSCR (Master's of Science in Clinical Research). Learn more about PORTAL.

Scholarly YearIn this program, you can opt to devote a year to conducting research or working on another type of scholarly project in order to obtain mentored, one-on-one research training, or to engage in a service or advocacy project. Learn more about the Scholarly Year.

External Student Research MeetingsThere are many meetings you can attend outside of ISMMS, including the:

Medical Student Research Day

Medical Student Research Day

Allows students to share their research

Research Resources

The Medical Student Research Office offers a variety of resources to support students in their research. These include guidelines for preparing abstracts and research proposals, as well as with opportunities to obtain bio statistical support.